Johnstone could become math, science academy school

VINELAND – The school district’s Applied Math and Science Academy, fragmented in three locations, might consolidate under one roof for the next school year.

A proposal to repurpose Johnstone Elementary School on South Brewster Road as the program’s home base would require school board approval.

To address rumors, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction Nathan Frey recently hosted a meeting that brought a standing-room-only crowd of parents and students to the Johnstone cafeteria.

“It’s not a done deal at all,” he said. “But we don’t want to be stuck if it goes forward without any plans for it.”

The opening of Lincoln Avenue Middle School in September will trigger a redistricting, which determines the geographic areas served by each school. The new school will serve about 620 students in grades 6 through 8 and prompt the nearest intermediate school, Rossi on Palermo Avenue, to revert to an elementary school.

There will likely be a ripple effect across the district.

Applied Math and Science Academy, not bound by geographic boundaries, offers advanced instruction to students who excel in its subject areas. Now serving 200 students in fifth through 10th grades, it operates at Petway Elementary, Veterans Memorial Intermediate and Vineland High School. Now in its fifth year, the academy adds a grade as students move up.

“These are unique students with unique needs,” Frey said. “They have different ideas and they want to do different things.”

Johnstone’s floor plan has a natural delineation with a corridor doorway to divide the school between underclassmen and upperclassmen while encouraging flexible instruction.

“There are bathrooms on both sides, there are classrooms on both sides,” Frey said. “We can control the flow of students.”

The proximity encourages an interaction the program now lacks.

“When you are here, you have opportunities to bring other ideas together like a mentoring program,” Frey said. “I think we need some kind of buddy system.”

Students work at an accelerated place.

High school students in the program are earning Cumberland County College associate degrees as they simultaneously pursue their high school diplomas.

“That needs to ramp up pretty quickly. You take AP biology as a freshman, you take AP chemistry as sophomore, those courses typically aren’t offered until much later,” Frey said. “This is really advanced stuff — you’re in a dual-credit, dual-enrollment program, you are a college student.”

The Johnstone property abuts the Vineland High School campus.

“That gives us access to those high-powered labs,” Frey said.

To help with academic counseling, the proposal calls for a VHS guidance counselor to also serve the academy students, especially with their college preparations.

“It’s good to talk to someone who understands those components and helps sets those pieces up,” Frey said.

The academic counseling also offers support to help students succeed. Plus, there's a tutoring program through the VHS National Honor Society.

“There’s a lot of things we can do when we are all together in one spot,” he said.

Academy high school students would be eligible to participate in VHS programs, including sports.

The tentative plan would allocate funds for four clubs at the academy school that would be determined by a new student government association.

Should the restricting plan ultimately not include the Johnstone home base for the AMSA, Frey said the ideas for the program's future would be incorporated into whatever configuration it exists.

Invitations to the AMSA's new recruits will go out next month.

“We look at data really carefully," Frey said. Then the district reaches out to students who might excel in the program.

"Then we offer it to everyone to come talk to us,” he said. “It’s not based solely on your grades and test scores."

"If you are a math- and science-minded person, do you want to build a good character, and do you want to build perseverance?" Frey said, noting the pillars of the program. "If that's you, then we'll give you a chance."

There is a cap on enrollment. "We can’t put more than 24 kids in a classroom," he said.